“Eve- Song” Critique

This is my Week 4 Critical analysis of the “Eve-Song”, while considering… What is your experience of being a woman compared to Gilmore’s “Eve Song”?

Understanding the context of the early to mid 1900’s in Australia is paramount, in order to understand Dame Mary Gilmore’s ‘Eve Song’ and the perspective from which its written. Specifically Gilmores ideas about marriage and women’s rights in Australia at the time. Initially, throughout the poem Gilmore continually refers to the ‘will of Man’ and how women are subservient to male whim. However, during this time it was typical for men to display infidelity to his wife and expect little from his wife but to complete domestic duties. This highlights the gender discrimination present at the time. This juxtaposition, of reading the poem then compared to now, allows an audience to understand the climaxes of the poem in different lights, nevertheless still poignant and a highly effective social critique relevant today.  

The poem illuminates the realities of a typical relationship between a man and a woman at the time. The first Stanza highlights the responsibilities of both parties, it outlines the responsibility for women to bare children; Gilmore discusses how despite bringing “love and prize” into their lives, there is a “root of loss and hidden dismay”. This exposes the reality of the pressure imposed upon women to be bore child, as well as, the lack of freedom they have to escape this as not all women want children or have a maternal instinct. Similarly, people will try to have children in order to ‘save’ their relationship, however, it may not necessarily assist the fruitfulness of a relationship. Gilmore ironically conveys to the audience the ‘mould’ that women should fit perfectly into, as well as depicting the interior turmoil that occurs when trying to grapple with this concept.

Another significant understanding that I garnered from reading the text from a different contextual perspective is the meaning of the refrain.

“I span and Eve span

A thread to bind the heart of man;”

In the first stanza, these lines reference how women work and have worked (referencing Adam and Eve) to please the heart of man. This notion to please your man, or a man is a strong contextual value of the time. Moreover, through the verb “bind”, meaning hold, together it creates a sense that the women in men’s lives bind or ensure reliability for them at all times. This could also be interpreted as how the women “bind” the relationship, thus ironically amplifying the inferiority of women, critiquing how men can function without a woman but women must seek to bind themselves to a man and work to ensure the integrity of the thread of their relationship.

However, after the harsh critique of man in the second stanza, Gilmore starts the third with

“And yet, and yet, as he came back,”

Which ironically juxtaposes the independence of man and their vanity by comparing their selfishness to the selflessness of women holding out

“our arms, and gave him our breast,

As a pillowing place for his head to rest.”.

Finally, the refrain again

“I span and Eve span,

A thread to bind the heart of man!”

Through the use of the exclamation point, here the meaning of “man” changes, to unite all people, mankind. The triumphant tone of this final two lines is Gilmore celebrating the power of women and congratulating the power, influence and ability women have over man kind. “The thread to bind the heart of man” as a whole, Gilmore eliminates contextual barriers and illuminates how women are an integral tool to assist men in functioning but also the whole world.